melancholy - carl grimes
by lmaochambler
Summary: "your group is so broken, carl. it's so broken, but you guys care for each other unconditionally and protect each other without hesitation. your group is broken, but it's strong. that's something i haven't seen or been apart of in a long time." - the walking dead season five - ? / lmaochambler 2017
1. melancholy

_**melancholy (n.)**_

 _a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause_

❝ your group is so broken, carl. it's so broken, but you guys care for each other unconditionally and protect each other without hesitation. your group is broken, but it's strong. that's something i haven't seen or been apart of in a long time. ❞

 **the walking dead canon in which madalynn gardener finally finds a place to fit in and somebody to love.**

 **i. disclaimer**

i don't own _the walking dead,_ nor do i own any of the characters, dialogues, and plot points. i do, however, own my characters and this story.

 **ii. cast**

 **amandla stenberg** as madalynn gardner

 _ **the walking dead cast**_ as their characters

 **iii. warning**

this story will include spoilers for season five forward. readers who haven't seen season five after have been warned.


	2. 001

madalynn bolted between the trees, her backpack bouncing against her back. she couldn't gauge how long she had been running, but her legs felt like she had been at it for hours. surely the horde of walkers had long since tracking her; she had to have moved too fast for them to catch up to her.

she slowed to a stop, leaning against a tree for support. for a moment, she wondered if this would have happened if her father was still around. she checked her gun for ammo, as if more would have magically appeared in the magazine of her pistol. her knife was her only form of protection until she could find more bullets or another gun that had some.

with a huff, she slid down to the forest floor, deciding it best to take some time to recover from her running. the surrounding area was clear for a while; there were no footsteps rustling leaves and no groans from the dead.

"god, i need to find another group," she muttered to herself as she rifled through her backpack.

she pulled a single cup of applesauce from the front pouch, relishing in the energy it replaced and the full feeling it gave her as she ate it. despite always being constantly on edge, she felt calm. there was no one around to hurt her and she had supplies to last for at least another week.

the girl only moved once before nightfall, packing her things and relocating closer to a river. the sound of the rushing water filled her ears, a calming sound amidst the terror filled days of the apocalypse. there she stayed, fingers skirting across the surface of the water and washing away the dirt and blood of the week's buildup.

the sun was setting as madalynn began to pack her things before setting off to find shelter for the night. everything was placed in their rightful pouches in the backpack, including her now useless gun. knife in hand, she stood and placed the straps over her shoulder.

taking a deep breath, she turned towards the tree line, already mapping out a path to take. as she stepped forward, she heard a twig snap behind her on the other side of the river.

whipping around with her blade at the ready, madalynn sighed when she realized it was only a roamer. with no need to hurry, she turned back and made her way through the woods, in search of her next temporary home.


	3. 002

the house laid still, so silent it seemed like there wasn't anybody in the derelict building at all. night had come and gone, leaving in its wake the pale golden sunlight of the dawn. with breakfast eaten and rest taken, madalynn packed her things before she set out for the day.

"well, house," she thought to herself. "thanks for keeping me safe last night."

she situated her backpack on her shoulder and retreated, leaving the house in its original state, like nobody had ever been there. the forest was just as quiet; there were no birds chirping, no dead stumbling and groaning. it was eerie; in the apocalypse, quiet woods meant two things. one: you were alone and walkers just weren't around, or two: somebody was hiding in the trees, ready to strike at anyone, dead or living.

pushing away her fear, madalynn continued forward, easily finding her way back to the main road she had been following just yesterday before she was chased off by a herd of zombies. the highway was just as quiet as the surrounding forest, but she doubted there were any malicious groups just past the tree line and hidden within the deep sea of trees.

hours had passed before she even thought about stopping. she had a clear destination in mind and even if she didn't, in a world infested with the walking dead, stopping to rest was always a gamble. the sun was halfway through its daily cycle when she finally paused to take a break.

the girl set her bag on the shoulder of the asphalt, carefully lowering herself down to sit. her knife was in easy access if she needed it and she was prepared to run at any second. as she dug around for a snack to eat, she couldn't help but wonder if what she was looking for was even real.

luckily, madalynn finished lunch and rested without any disruptions. it was quite strange that there weren't any walkers around, but in the back of her mind, she was kind of thankful for it. for once, it meant not having to kill anything.

once again slinging her bag over her shoulder, she began to walk. this time she wasn't so fortunate; there had been a reanimated person or two that had crossed paths with her. however, those were the only living things she encountered until nightfall.

as the sun sank once more, giving way to a clear twilight sky and the moon. it was peaceful, the stars beginning to appear in the dark horizon of night and the moon retracing the sun's steps. the light breeze made everything feel just that much better.

having walked for nearly 14 hours, madalynn was ready to stop and rest until the next day. her surroundings were silent, aside from the rustling of the tree leaves in the wind, so she began to search for an adequate spot to sleep.

as she began to veer off the path of the road, there was a loud rustling behind her. she knew too well that an animal couldn't make that much of a sound and walkers were always groaning, which was missing.

just as she had done the day before at the river, madalynn whipped around, knife ready to attack; there was no one there. it had to have been a person, there wasn't a walker anywhere near her current position.

"who's there?" she called, hesitantly. "i heard you. i know you're there."

" _this is a bad decision_ ," she told herself. " _they could be dangerous._ "

" _well, everyone is dangerous, nowadays._ "

still on the offense, madalynn made herself and her motives of the moment clear once more.

"i heard you rustle some leaves. who _are_ you?"


End file.
